Deeper Troop Cutback Weighed

By

Adam Entous and

Julian E. Barnes

Updated Jan. 4, 2013 8:19 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON—The Pentagon has sketched out plans for a scaled-back presence in Afghanistan, after the Obama administration pressed for options that would leave fewer troops in the country after 2014 than defense officials have proposed.

New Pentagon options would leave roughly 3,000, 6,000 or 9,000 U.S. troops, laying the groundwork for a more bare-bones international coalition in the country. Gen. John Allen, the commander of U.S. and...